How to build a lifecycle nurture program that responds to behavior

Steps

1. 1

   Define the lifecycle stages

   Awareness, consideration, decision (or your equivalent). Written entry and exit criteria for each. Stages reflect the buyer's mental state, not your funnel labels.

2. 2

   Map the behavioral signals

   What signals indicate stage entry. What signals indicate stalled progression. What signals indicate disqualification. Each signal mapped to a measurable event.

3. 3

   Align content to stage

   Awareness-stage content for awareness-stage prospects; decision-stage content for decision-stage. Content keyed to stage rather than to enrollment date.

4. 4

   Build stage-based enrollment

   Programs enroll on stage entry rather than on form fill. Re-enrollment guards prevent races where a contact loops between stages.

5. 5

   Wire up the suppression

   What happens when a contact regresses, becomes a customer, or goes dormant. Suppression logic prevents wrong-stage messages from firing.

6. 6

   Add sales handoff at the right stage

   MQL transition fires from the lifecycle, not from a separate scoring program. Routing receives the lead in the right state.